To activate the portal website, use an Esri-provided .json license file. The number of named users per user type that you can add to your portal is limited by this license file. If the maximum number of registered members per user type exceeds the license entitlement, you are no longer in compliance with the license.
Throughout the documentation, on the portal website, and in ArcGIS applications, named users are typically referred to as ArcGIS organizational accounts or members of the ArcGIS organization.
The named user licensing model is enforced through the software for the following:
- Preventing your portal from accepting more ArcGIS organizational accounts than licensed for each user type
- Disabling access to the portal website for members without administrator privileges that are assigned a user type that has more members than licenses
You can determine the number of members your portal is licensed for and the current number of registered members per user type by signing in to the portal website as an administrator and accessing the Organization page. This is useful for monitoring portal membership and assessing whether your organization should consider increasing the membership capacity of your portal deployment.
While the number of members allowed in the organization is limited by the license file, an unlimited number of users can use your portal without membership. To learn more about the added privileges and functionality that accessing a portal as a member of the ArcGIS organization provides, see the Understand access privileges section in Manage access to your portal.
If you are not in compliance with the licensing, the following occur:
- Accessing the portal website with an account that has administrative privileges displays a notice that the number of licenses assigned exceeds the number of licenses available. Click the Licenses tab to view the user types that exceeded the number of licenses available. This notice is displayed each time the portal website is accessed by an administrator.
- Accessing the portal website, the ArcGIS Portal Directory, and the portal through ArcGIS Pro with a nonadministrative account displays a sign-in error message stating that the member cannot sign in to the portal because of a software authorization error. The member is directed to contact the portal administrator for assistance. The member cannot access the portal until the software authorization error is resolved.
- New member accounts cannot be created through the portal website or the ArcGIS Portal Directory. If a user attempts to create a member account, an error message appears stating that the account could not be created because of a software authorization error. The user is directed to contact the portal administrator for assistance.
User type capacity
Portal administrators can leverage user types when assigning organizational roles and privileges to members.
When a member requests additional privileges while membership is at capacity for both the current and desired user type, the portal administrator can temporarily assign users a user type that is at capacity. The portal administrator should quickly reassign another member to a user type that is not at capacity.
Note:
When membership to a user type is exceeded, users assigned that user type cannot access the portal. Administrators should minimize the time a user type is in this state when updating user types that are at capacity.
The following is an example scenario and its solution:
An ArcGIS organization is authorized and currently at capacity with a total of 30 members (named users). Of those, 25 are assigned the Viewer user type and 5 are assigned the Creator user type. The portal administrator receives an urgent request from a Viewer user who requires temporary access to create content. To respond to this request, the administrator can complete the following:
- Identify another Creator user who can be demoted temporarily to accommodate the Viewer user's urgent request for additional privileges.
- After signing in to the portal website with an administrator account, click the Organization tab and select Manage members. Locate the member who will be temporarily changed to the Viewer user type and click the currently assigned (Creator) user type.
- In the window that appears, change the user type for the selected member to Viewer and click Save.
- Change the user type for the member who has requested additional privileges to Creator.
- Once the privileges are no longer needed for the urgent request, both members can be returned to their original status.
Caution:
The maximum value for a user type membership can be exceeded by one member at a time. When membership is exceeded by one, members assigned that user type cannot access the portal.